Remember It's Up to You

I was watching the Dr. Oz show the other day and he interviewed a few people on the subject of food addiction. It is compared to being addicted to drugs or alcohol. Watching that show made me think - yep, that is me. I'm addicted to food.

I think it's more difficult to get off or resist a food addiction because you can't stop eating. To get off Norco all I had to do was tapper down over 2.5 weeks. It was actually easy. But I can't taper off food. I can change what I eat, but it's not the same thing.

My worst time is evenings. This is when my food addiction kicks in. There is high anxiety that overwhelms my desire to eat until it goes away. This is totally different from the anxiety that I spoke of in my first post. This is annoying for sure, but not painful as the other type can be.

My husband and I both need to lose weight. We joined a gym and I now play racquetball 3/4 times a week. They have a weight loss program in Aug. If I can afford it I am thinking of joining. The only issue is that I have to join 2 weeks late since we're going to be in SF bay area for that period of time.

I just keep reminding myself to look for the right foods in the frig. Sometimes I win, sometimes my body wins.

It's a work in progress.

Joined a Health Program

I've had a membership to the local gym here in my area for about 3 months now. They are starting an new program Aug. 1st and I joined today. I really liked what they said at the meeting today; a preview of what we are going to get.

Basically it's about learning how to eat right, which includes helping eat foods that will control your food cravings, which is a HUGE problem. Portion control too. Also what you need to do to lose weight as in what to eat, calories to take in, exercise that will increase fat loss.

It's 12 weeks and the person who loses the most fat percentage wins $250.00. :) Not the most weight, but percentage in fat, which is better since you can gain muscle and not show as much weight loss.

It starts monday. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll have to log my food and count calories, which is a pain, but I am tired of my body hurting due to the weight. I want relief from it and I want to walk an hour to 2 hours a day again.

I'll update my progress in this blog. My husband is going to work with the program too, but he's not actually going to be in it at the gym since we can't afford to pay for both of us.

Talk to you soon,
Smee

How pH Water Can Improve Your Health

You've probably heard about how a body that is close to pH 7.0 will fair better than one that is on the acidic side. Most people actually have an acidic body. This is due to eating far too many unhealthy animal proteins and processed foods.

The worst things you can do in your diet is drink soda and soda like drinks. You may not be aware of this but even bottled water is acidic. Unless you find those that are pH enhanced. There are a few, Fugi I think is one of them. The other way to acquire high alkaline pH water is by buying a machine that produces it from tap water. Water ionizers can be purchased online, but there are so many of them it's hard to know which one is the best buy.

I personally did a lot of research on this subject and found that Enagic's brand was the best and most reliable.There are a lot of "claims" about who's the best, and the competitors actually say things that are so far from the truth it's almost comical, yet people do believe them.

My friend tried one of the other most talked about brands online but after a week she called to return it. It simply did not benefit her health like the Kangen water machine did. I had brought her my machine to use for two weeks so she was able to compare her results.

If you want to learn more about alkaline water machines, visit, VeryHealthyWater.org. It is not my website, but it is an approved site by Enagic so I feel confident in sharing it with you.

Due to the FDA I cannot share with you the exact health benefits I personally experienced from drinking Kangen water, but I can say that I did benefit greatly. There are books that talk about the health benefits from bringing your body out of an acidic state into a pH balanced one. I would recommend starting there. 

One of my favorite TV shows is the Dr. Oz show. You can also visit his site and learn more about improving your health by what you eat and drink. He is truly a great man and it is well worth it to watch his show as often as you can. I record it and watch it when I have time.

I also believe that watching healthy programs and avoiding stressful TV programs is vital to good mental health. Especially important when you are experiencing any type of anxiety.

Welcome to Mind and Body Ballance

This is actually my goal. I've been successfully making changes over the past 10 months. These changes have helped me climb out of a very difficult emotional state. I'll be sharing this with you over time, but for now, I'll give you the "short story".

Up until last Sept. 2010 I have never experienced depression or anxiety such as the level that came upon me suddenly while my husband and I were on vacation in Eureka, Ca. Let me share this thought with you.

Depression and Anxiety - Many people experience depression and anxiety. Sometimes the depression is brought on by personal experiences that are so difficult to cope with it is not hard to comprehend why depression sets in.

My sister died in a car accident at age 27, I was 21 at the time. My step father died from a massive heart attack the following year, same month. My cousin committed suiside at age 16 the very next year, the same month.

I believe it is fair to say that I understand sadness and depression on the level brought about by cercumstances. However, this is not the type of depression and anxiety that I experienced last year, Sept. 2010.

Before last year I had no comprehension of why someone would ever want to take their own life. You have heard the expression, "they have so much to live for". Or how can someone with "everything" such as a good mate, all the money they would ever need, and good friends, possibly consider taking their own life.

You simply cannot understand this unless you personally experience the inner sickness that drives a person to this level of anxiety and depression. Personally, I don't even know if it can be called anxiety or depression because it is rather a physical "thing" inside of you that is indescribable.

This feeling sucks the life out of you. It sucks out your motivation to move, to get up, to shower, to watch TV. It takes away your confidence, your joy, and it sends your mind on a repeating pattern of dispare where you cannot stop thinking of "worrisome" things. Whatever that "thing" is can be different for each person, but it is an uncontrollable thought pattern in which you just can't seem to turn your mind off.

THIS is where I was. My first thought was that I had become addicted to Norco, a pain medication that helped me walk up to 3 hours per day.

My first goal was to get off this medication. It took me 2.5 weeks, but I got off of it. The fact was I only took 1 to 2 of these pain pills per day, but at some point my body began to reject it so it was time to get off.

Next - I tried anti-anxiety medication. This was a HUGE HUGE problem for me. I want to first say that many people need these medications for depression and anxiety. My own husbands life has been changed to a much happier one through these types of medication, however, for me, it enhanced the horrible "thing" inside me and after just 5 days I began to consider taking my own life.

Do not misunderstand the "why" here. Why I wanted to end my life is due to a sick feeling that I could not touch, control or get rid of. It was physical, not mental. It attacked my mental and emotional state of mind - yes, but it was a physical issue. The medication almost brought me to my death.

I stopped taking it after 5 days, I tried one other different medication and after 2 days realized it was going in the same direction so I stopped that as well.

Today, almost a year later I have had ups and downs full of anxiety and stress. However, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being when I wanted to end my life, these anxiety attacks are between 3 and 5. I can deal with them.

I have many many days where I feel normal. And other day where I feel very close to normal. What has helped me through this time is a variety of natural remedies. I drink high alkaline water, I try to eat as much non process foods as possible, and I meditate on relieving negative energy (thoughts), which I will talk about at another time.

If you suffer from anxiety, there are ways to overcome them. Seek help. Do not give up. Know that you are not alone. Hang on... it is important to know that you WILL get better. This is what helped me. Those thoughts, I WILL get better. And I have.

That's it for my first post. I'll be back soon.

:)